


It's Not Too Late For Us

by Izupie (orphan_account)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, Krolia and Keith Reunite, Krolia decides to be honest, She just loves her son so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 09:52:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14353047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Izupie
Summary: Keith has found the mother he never expected to meet, while Krolia has reunited with the son she never thought she'd see again.Their feelings are similar, but they're not reaching each other at all - is it too late to build a relationship between them now? Krolia decides the only chance she has to reconnect with him is to be honest. About everything.





	It's Not Too Late For Us

**Author's Note:**

> Decided to try my hand at some feelsy angsty family drama. Threw in a few headcanons too. Really pleased with the result!~  
> (I hope these two get to stay together for a while in the show. My heart can't take them being ripped apart ok)

The low hum of the ship's engine did nothing to lessen the tense atmosphere filling the air of the cockpit. Krolia’s grip on the controls tightened. As far as reunions went she was fairly sure this wasn’t going well. She glanced across to the seat beside her, but Keith's expression was still blank and unreadable, and he stared resolutely ahead.

Krolia let out a long breath and closed her eyes briefly. She never imagined they would meet like this. It wasn’t supposed to _be_ like this. She had always planned to return to her son one day, but it was supposed to be when she had completed her mission and helped brought peace to the universe - when she could explain everything and he would be safe.

So why couldn’t she just tell him that?

She knew that anything she would say now would just sound insincere and hollow. How many times had he believed his mother would return, and nobody ever came for him? Anything she said to explain her absence would just sound like an excuse; _‘I was going to come back for you! I didn’t want to leave you!’_ would sound just as empty coming out of her mouth as it sounded screaming around her head.

“My missions have taken me to countless planets,” she started unexpectedly, making Keith jump slightly, “but nothing I’ve seen out there has ever been as beautiful as the moment I held you in my arms.”

He turned to face her then, and her heart ached at the vulnerability and pain she saw in his eyes. Such a strangely familiar face; like echoes of her own reflection and hints of the man she once loved.

_My son._

_I’m so sorry._

“Then why did you leave me?” Keith eventually choked out, brows drawn together.

Krolia forced her back to stay straight, though she wanted to crumble, and blinked back the burning in her eyes, though she wanted to weep. Instead she hardened her expression and kept her voice steady, “I had to.”

“You - _had_ \- to?” He echoed, anger straining his voice.

His temper was eerily familiar too; she recognised the set of his jaw, and she could see his fists clenching at his sides.

“You were tiny,” she snapped. He had the right to be angry, she knew that, but she still couldn’t stop her temper flaring to match his - he wasn’t the only one who had suffered. “You were tiny and weak and innocent,” she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. “What should I have done? Should I have taken you back to the Blades with me? ‘Victory or Death’, right? That’s not an environment I wanted to bring you into.” Krolia barked a single sharp laugh, gesturing in his direction with a clawed hand. “Seems that choice was all for nothing in the end anyway.”

Keith threw his hands into the air, losing his barely restrained patience, and his voice rose in pitch as he yelled, “You could have done _something_. You _left_ me!”

Krolia winced, but Keith pressed on as if gaining momentum. “There must have been - there must have been _something_ you could have done? I - I thought I didn’t have a mom growing up because she _didn’t want me_.”

“Keith, no -” She gasped.

“I just - I never thought I’d actually meet you.” Keith’s anger finally seemed to fade, and he turned away as if he could no longer bare to be so open to her. “I just...”

Krolia gritted her teeth and squeezed her claws tightly into her palms, and even with the tough skin on her hands she knew she was in danger of breaking the skin and drawing blood.

Tension was thick in the air and Krolia could do nothing about it. If anything, she deserved this. And yet... The urge to reach out and comfort him, touch him, reassure him – be there for him – was almost overwhelming. She was a mother. She was _his_ mother.

Krolia took another deep breath and let it out slowly, then turned in her seat to face Keith fully, determination for her feelings to reach him burning in her eyes. He blinked in surprise. She supposed she must look like she was ready for battle. And in a way, she was.

“I was sent to Earth as a scout.” Krolia's voice and expression was hard. “Kolivan was always prepared to be one step ahead of Zarkon’s plans, so he sent me to infiltrate and report on what I found there. Was it a planet we could form an alliance with? Would they be able to defend themselves? ‘Gather intelligence’, that was my mission.”

Keith said nothing, and his mouth was still pressed together in an angry line, but he was looking at her and letting her speak, so she took that as a shred of encouragement to continue.

“I met your father almost as soon as I landed. You know how he is – like he’d fully expected me to land a ship on his ranch that morning. Totally unfazed. More bothered that I had spooked the horses than anything else.” She couldn’t stop the fond smile breaking through her mask, and fought to regain her composure before continuing, “But we didn’t know much about earth, and despite my mistake in landing somewhere I'd been spotted, I decided to take the unexpected opportunity I had been given and learn all I could from him. I knew Kolivan wouldn’t have agreed to it, but I was head-strong, and I believed it to be the right course of action, so I did it anyway.”

Keith winced as if he knew exactly what she meant, and Krolia was surprised to find herself wanting to know about the story behind that expression. There was so much she had missed, and her heart ached to know everything about him. She hoped she still had time.

“My view of Earth was entirely influenced by seeing its beauty through his eyes, and I fell in love with it.” She smiled toothily. “And I fell in love with him... That time we spent together was precious, and I still treasure it, especially when I found out I was expecting you. We were so excited! Even if... even if deep down we knew our happy time together wouldn’t last,” Krolia sighed.

“You know.... your father bought me a book filled with human baby names, and I stayed up all night reading it so I could choose the perfect one for you.” She flicked off the ship’s engine, then stood slowly and took the few paces over to Keith’s seat, and bent down to one knee so that her face was lower than his, hoping that he understood the significance of her actions. His dark eyes were shining with tears when she looked up into them, and she felt a burning sensation in her own that she struggled to swallow back.

“I wanted to keep you,” her voice cracked, “I wanted to keep you so badly, but I knew you’d be safer with your father. In the end it wasn’t like I had much choice – my decision was made for me, and I had to go,” Krolia looked away briefly, unable to meet his gaze, “it doesn't mean I’m excused from what I did, but you looked almost exactly like a regular human, so I knew there was a chance you could grow up and never even know about your lineage, safe and happy on Earth, while we stopped Zarkon from ever getting to this part of the universe.”

“I had no idea..... Wait...” He frowned. “You said I looked ‘almost’ human...?”

Krolia knew a tear had escaped as she gave a tiny, sad, lopsided smile, and she felt it run hot down her face. She reached a hand up slowly and placed it gently on his left cheek, finding comfort in him not moving away from her touch, and used her other hand to point to one of the stripes decorating the lower sides of her face. It only took Keith a moment until understanding flashed in his widening eyes and he placed his gloved hand over her own as he spoke quickly, “No - That’s not possible. There’re no marks on me!”

“My genes didn’t escape you fully - you were a perfect tiny human baby, except for the bright purple Galra stripe on your cheek.”

Keith took a shaky breath and stared intensely into her eyes, as if he was searching for the truth there. “But there's nothing on me now, what – how -?”

Krolia’s voice wobbled with the force of the return of such old, deep pain, “I wanted to stay with you both. I knew that it was the wrong decision - I _knew_ \- but the three of us together was something I wanted so much. I was such a fool, Keith.” She shook her head. “Kolivan came to Earth, concerned that my cryptic reports and request for more time on the planet meant that I was in trouble. Ah, yes, you’re surprised - he never used to be so emotionally closed off, and he’s always been far too observant. Well, he came and found you of course. He wasn’t pleased,” her voice darkened, “he reminded me of my duty and the reason I had pledged my life to the Blades, and I knew that I had to leave you. What use would my staying on earth be if Zarkon invaded in the end anyway? But I had a condition... I would only go back if I knew you were fully disguised as a human, so you could grow up and never know.”

“So you changed my skin?” Keith breathed, shaking his head and removing himself from her space by standing up and taking a few paces away. He rubbed his face with his hands before he said, “Was hiding half of who I am really the best option? I mean, I found out anyway in the end. Though really it was because of your sword that it even became an issue at all - it was all I had of you, and even that was a mystery I wanted to solve. They put me through the Trials, I unlocked the power of your blade, and I found out why I’ve never felt like I fit in back on Earth.”

“I am sorry, Keith.” Krolia gritted her teeth and stood to face his back, since he still wasn’t looking at her, and wished this all hadn’t come out at once. There was probably a better way to explain everything, at a better time, but this is the situation they were in and she would have to hope that revealing the truth all at once like this wouldn’t just drive them further apart. The decisions, and mistakes, she’d made in her life were her own, and it was time to admit to them.

“There was a spy in the Blades who had infiltrated the Druids. His cover was of the utmost importance to maintain, but we made a deal, Kolivan and I - your freedom for mine - so he was contacted. He used quintessence to alter your appearance, so you could pass as a full human,” Krolia said wearily, “and remain on earth with your father. While I... While I would dedicate the rest of my life to working as a loyal member of the Blade of Marmora, sworn to stop Zarkon and the oppression of the Galra Empire, never returning to Earth or seeking you out.”

For a moment both mother and son were silent, then Keith spoke quietly, “I got splashed with quintessence once, and it did something weird to my skin. That’s why, isn’t it? Because I got experimented on? ... Agh this is so messed up,” he added in frustration, “but... I think I understand.” He turned and gazed unflinchingly into her eyes, one hand hovering over the cheek his mark was once on. “You literally traded your life for mine. Even if I’m not sure if I agree with what you did, I can still say ‘thank you’ for that.”

Krolia knew that tears were streaming down her face now, and her chest heaved in a shaky breath as old pain was finally freed from the cage she had placed around it in her heart.

“You’re my son,” she said with difficulty, voice thick with emotion, “and I never stopped thinking about you or loving you. Never.”

Then all at once she found him in her arms. She didn’t know who had reached for who, but it didn’t matter; they were together, and her arms were finally holding the son she never thought she'd ever see again. That last day they’d been together, when she'd had to leave, had broken her heart, but she could almost feel it piecing back together again. Keith shuddered in her tight grip and she could hear his quiet sobs mingling with her own, so she held him even tighter.

There would be time to heal together, she would make sure of that. For now, all that mattered was that they were reunited at last.


End file.
